Witnesses: Hampton man killed over a pack of cigarettes

HAMPTON — Randall Aubrey Anderson was killed Saturday over a pack of cigarettes by a homeless man he considered a friend, according to witnesses.

Anderson, 36, had invited Mark Carpenter and Samuel Brazier and a friend to his home on Victoria Blvd. to hang out. Carpenter said he went to the store to buy their friend Yarborough a pack of Newport cigarettes.

When he returned he gave Yarborough the cigarettes and his change. Carpenter and Brazier said things seemed normal that night between the four of them. They talked and drank beer and liquor.

Brazier said Anderson had just put the movie "Taken" on around 11 p.m. when Yarborough became hostile.

"He slit his throat once while he was sitting on the couch," said Brazier, who said Yarborough used a Swiss army knife. After cutting Anderson, Yarborough ran out the house and got on his bike.

Brazier said he chased Yarborough, but couldn't catch him. Brazier then ran across the street to Darling Stadium to ask for help.

Back inside the home Carpenter said Anderson got up from the couch and walked to the bathroom where he collapsed.

"I wrapped a towel around his neck to try to stop the bleeding," Carpenter said. "He looked up at me and said 'I'm through man.'"

Those were his last words.

Yarborough, 59, was arrested and charged Sunday with murder, use of a knife in the commission of a felony. He is currently in the custody of the Hampton City Jail. Yarborough declined a request to be interviewed.

According to Carpenter, Yarborough often slept across the street from Anderson's home at James Eason Memorial Park. On Tuesday the black futon cover he slept on was laying on a picnic table.

This is the second homicide in the 4000 block of Victoria Blvd in less than a month. On Oct. 15 two doors down from Anderson's duplex Robert Jayson Broyles, 60, was killed during a home invasion. Anderson's death is the 15th homicide in Hampton this year compared with eight at the same time last year.

Anderson known by the nickname "Jedi" had two children, according to Brazier. Neighbors said he was a kind man known for helping homeless people like Yarborough and Carpenter.

"This man died over a pack of cigarettes," Brazier said. "It's like a horror movie, but its real life."

Carpenter and Brazier say they are traumatized by Anderson's death and need counseling.

"I was the last person he saw," Carpenter said. "It bothers me today…Every time I go to sleep I keep seeing him."